NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 8, 2016

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Kentucky Speedway and discussed his get back and give back paint scheme this weekend, his thoughts on his progress thus far this season, how the first practice session went for the No. 24 team yesterday and many other topics. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT THE RACING THIS SEASON AND YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR:
“Yeah, I think there have certainly been some close finishes. I wish had been a part of some of the close battles there that we have seen at Phoenix and Sonoma. Definitely some cool races I think from a fans perspective to watch. Hopefully, that has been exciting to see whether or not fans are at the race track or watching from home. I think that is encouraging and certainly hasn’t been lack of effort to try different packages and see what works, what doesn’t and try to get a direction for moving forward.”

HOW DID THINGS GO YESTERDAY IN THE FIRST PRACTICE SESSION ON THE NEW SURFACE?
“I think for the short amount of time that they redid this place I was really impressed. Kasey (Kahne) came and tested for the team test here a few weeks ago. He had really positive comments and I certainly can’t disagree. I think they did a good job with it. Again, to do it in such a short amount of time I couldn’t imagine the work load that the guys and girls had to put into doing it in that short a period. I’ve got a couple of friends in the paving business and I can only imagine that was a hard fought few months. Certainly, respect those guys for what they did and hopefully everything holds up like it should and I expect it to this weekend.”

DO YOU ENVISION MULTIPLE RACING GROOVES THIS WEEKEND OR DO YOU THINK IT’S GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE FOLLOW THE LEADER TYPE RACES?
“I think it’s tough to say. Last night I thought the Truck Series moved the groove around a little bit. Certainly the preferred lane was around the bottom. Anytime you have a new surface it takes some wear-in time. To me I think the best example of a good repave here as of late was Kansas. Kansas to me was a place that I wasn’t a part of the first race or two there, but it didn’t seem like very long after that the groove started to move up. Now we race from the bottom up to the wall. I think some of the same, similar approach methods were used into paving this race track and even maybe some things that they used at Kansas and I think even took a few steps further. Like I said, this is only the second or third time cars have been on the track, so certainly there is going to be a groove that is going to outweigh others. I think that is the bottom right now. I hope that moves around and I think as you get later into a run if tires do fall off like we all hope they do, I think that is when you are going to see the ability to move around. But, while the tires are good and fast I think it will be a tough thing at first, but hopefully it moves up after that.”

GIVEN THE TWO RACES WE HAVE USED THE LOWER DOWNFORCE PACKAGE AT ARE TRACKS WITH A FRESHER SURFACE, WOULDN’T IT BEEN IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE DRIVERS FOR THERE TO BE ANOTHER RACE AT A TRACK THAT IS MUCH HARDER ON THE TIRES LIKE DARLINGTON?
“I think it raises a good point. I wouldn’t be opposed to it by any means. I do think you take that downforce away, obviously like you say, going to Michigan which is a surface that still has a lot of grip. It was paved not too terribly long ago and then to come here I think it raises a good point. I wouldn’t be opposed to it by any means. I don’t know that it would change things a ton. I do think you are going to see some of the same characteristics with more tire fall off. I think that would be the biggest factor that would change. I don’t know that would change a ton of things, but it could be the greatest thing ever. I wouldn’t be opposed to trying it out.”

AS A ROOKIE IN THE CUP SERIES IS IT NICE TO COME TO A TRACK WHERE THERE HAS BEEN SO MUCH CHANGE WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE KIND OF ON THE SAME LEVEL PLAYING FIELD AS EVERYBODY ELSE?
“I was looking forward to this race just because you have a repave. I’ve come to Kentucky a few times over the past couple of years on the Xfinity side. You hear about the changes and I think you are more just excited to see what that is all about and the changes that it brings. Certainly the guys who win frequently and are champions they are champions for a reason they are good at what they do. I don’t care if it’s a new race track they have never seen or a place they have been going to for 20 years I don’t think it really matters from that stand point. I don’t think it makes your job any easier or anything like that just because nobody else has seen the place before, in my opinion. Those guys are really good at what they do.”

DO YOU THINK WITH THE TRACK SURFACE BEING SUCH AN UNKNOWN THAT GIVES AN ADVANTAGE TO THE MORE EXPERIENCED DRIVERS OR DOES IT JUST LEAVE AN OPEN DOOR?
“It is somewhat of an unknown, but I think sometimes you have to step back and look at it from a general perspective and recognize that it’s a 1.5-mile track, we are turning left and we are still trying to go as fast as possible. The guys, who have been doing that for a long period of time, as I said, are good at what they do and they are in the positions they are in for a reason. Yes, the majority of us have never seen this place before, but we are all still trying to achieve the same things that we try to achieve each week. It is different. The surface is a little different than it was when we raced here last, but the world has not quit turning. We are still trying to do the same things.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NO. 24 CAMP AND HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AS AN ORGANIZATION THIS YEAR?
“I’m really proud of our group in particular, first and foremost to see those guys first hand, how they work and how they operate just really glad to have the group of guys that I have. I’m really just lucky to have Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) on the box. I think he is an incredible crew chief. I think he does a really good job. I don’t think he gets the credit that he deserves. In my opinion I think he is definitely a good leader and I think a lot of our guys respect him. He knows how to put the right people in the right places and that is an important thing as a crew chief goes. I have enjoyed working with him. I hope we can try to get better throughout the year. I think we have definitely had up’s and down’s. We are not where we want to be. We are about two to three stickers short of where we want to be up by my name on the car. So, if we could get some stickers on our car that would be a big goal for us. That is what we want to do. That is our goal is to try to get to Victory Lane. I feel like I have a team that can do that. As I’ve said before you can sit around and talk about it all day long, but until you do it it really doesn’t matter. Just trying to go get the job done and just focus on what matters.”

HOW BIG OF A DIFFERENCE IS TURNS 1 AND 2 VERSUS TURNS 3 AND 4? SOME OF THE GUYS CALLED TURN 3 TREACHEROUS:
“1 and 2 has got a good bit more banking than 3 and 4 does. I feel like the radius is a good bit tighter. The groove hasn’t really moved up a whole lot, so you are really chasing the yellow line around 1 and 2. 3 and 4 was really slick to start the day yesterday and it seemed like as we laid rubber down on the race track that got better. But, definitely it is slick to start. I’m not sure if that is a rubber thing from series to series or just the way the track was sitting. A lot of times when you get a new paving surface there is a lot of grit and things that the race track seems to accumulate and likes to sit on the race track. I’m not sure exactly what that was, but that did get better throughout the day. 3 and 4 is really exactly like it was when we were here before, just minus a few bumps here or there and the surface being new. As far as the banking angle or the banking on the bottom of the race track to the middle as you move up is all the exact same, the radius is the same. Your visuals are all the same; just the surface you are on is a little bit different. So, 3 and 4 is very similar to what we have seen here in the past. 1 and 2 like I said it just seems like it has a little bit more banking and a little tighter radius than what I remember here in the fall.”

TALK ABOUT YOUR PATRIOTIC PAINT SCHEME FOR THIS WEEK AND NAPA’S GET BACK AND GIVE BACK CAMPAIGN?
“Absolutely, I love our paint scheme this week. I think it looks awesome. I wish we ran it more often. I have been fortunate to be a part of this initiative the past couple of years. They have the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund on our car. Napa has done a great job of supporting them and supporting men and women who serve our country. We have done this the past two years at Daytona and they wanted to do it again this year. I’m happy to be a part of it. Napa, like I said, does a great job of giving back and they to me are doing their job there and supporting everywhere they can. I’m glad to be a very small part of it this weekend and hope that we can raise some awareness and give back to the folks who let us do what we love to do.”